We are delighted to welcome parents and children back to Senior Infants in Firhouse NS and look forward to seeing you on the first day of school at 8.30am on Thursday 3rd September 2015.

*If the school needs to close due to unforeseen circumstances, parents and guardians will be notified as early as possible via text. In the event of the school closing due to dangerous weather conditions, its possible the holiday list will be amended to make up the lost time.

Maths in the environmentWe went outside to enjoy the fine weather and sunshine. Darren came with us and we found lots of 3D shapes in our garden. We took some photos to discuss and share with you. we

Díolann sé cacaí is borróga buíTugann sé ceann dom anois is arís.

May

﻿List of Reading Strategies(Although all of these strategies are very important I have underlined the ones that are most suitable to children who are starting to read)﻿Predicting: Helps activate prior knowledge. Based on clues in text (pictures, subtitles, etc.)

Connecting: Connecting prior knowledge to new information Comparing. Thinking more specifically about connections they are making, e.g. how is this different to….?

Inferring: Taking information from a text and creating their own interpretations beyond the literal level.

Synthesising: Piecing information together as students read a text, to keep track of what is happening

Creating Images: Creating sensory images to assist with overall comprehension of a text

Self-questioning: Providing a framework for active learning as students engage with the text to find answers

Skimming: Glancing quickly through material to gain an overall view of text

Adjusting Reading Rate: Adjusting rate where appropriate, e.g. slowing down to comprehend new information, or speeding up to scan for key words

Using Analogy: Transferring what they know about familiar words to help them identify unfamiliar words

Consulting a Reference: Using a dictionary, thesaurus, reference chart or glossary to help find word meanings/pronunciations

Poem for the month of MayLimerick: There was an Old Man with a Beardby Edward LearThere was an Old Man with a beard,Who said, "It is just as I feared! -- Two Owls and a Hen,Four Larks and a Wren,Have all built their nests in my beard.”

StoryOur fairytale for this month is Hansel and Gretel. This animation tells a version of the story with a few additional characters.

TimeWe have been learning how to read the clock. In Junior Infants we learn how to read hours on the clock. We have also been sequencing our daily routines. Look how we sequenced this girl's day. We don't necessarily do exactly the same as her so we had to use the pictures to help us figure out the correct order. We decided that we should place the pictures in a circle because we are asleep at the end of our day and the start of our day so one day leads into the next. Look at what we did below and talk about whether your daily routine is the same or different.

Look who shared what she knows about monkeys

Look whose presentation was all about hedgehogs

Look who told us all about tigers

Look who loves dinosaurs

April

MusicWe have been singing a song about numbers. Look at all the places we found numerals written.

Here is the song we have been singing

Our traditional tale for April is Little Red Riding Hood

Sunshine art class with Senior Infants

Paired Reading in the sunWe paired up with the children from Senior Infants to read some books and enjoy the sunshine at the same time

Our English poem for AprilOur Puppiesby Evaleen SteinLittle ears as soft as silk,Little teeth as white as milk,Little noses cool and pink,Little eyes that blink and blink,Little bodies round and fat,Little hearts that pit-a-pat,Surely prettier puppies neverWere before nor can be ever!

MathsWe have been learning all about money in in class. We have been adding coins together and have been seeing how many ways we can find to get the same amount

Ireland's Call﻿We have finally managed to upload this video of us singing Ireland's call

March

PresentationsLola taught us all about bears

Mohsin told us all about kangaroos

Conor's presentation was all about skunks

Cai shared what he know's about warthogs and even showed us how to spell the word

Isobel decided she wanted to do her presentation on spiders

MathsWe have been learning all about time. We know the long hand has to be at 12 for it to be an o'clock and the small hand tells us what o'clock it is. These games can help us practice what we know about time.

Cake decoratingLynn came in today to show us how to decorate cupcakes to celebrate Springtime. She baked the cakes for us and brought them in along with lots of fun treats for us to use to decorate the cakes. She also brought in some fun masks to help us celebrate the season. We had lots of fun.

RiverdanceWe have been watching Riverdance and have been practising our moves. Have a look at the two videos to see which one you think is the best.

Computer ProgrammingScratch was developed by MIT. There are tutorials available online to help children learn or a a manual can also be got. Here is a link to it.

PresentationsSimon taught us all about frogs today.Here is his presentation.Look at the brilliant poster he made to help him with his presentation.

World Book Day 2015﻿﻿﻿We have had a very busy day! Parents Darren and Arnela and transition year students Sarah and Niamh spent their morning reading stories to us as we explored all of the books in the classroom. Then parents Sarah and Ahmad worked with us on reading and writing activities. At the end of the day we invited Senior Infants in to read us some stories and we shared some stories with them. Here are some photos of us and Senior Infants.

Our traditional tale for March is Chicken Licken

Our Poem for MarchDaffodowndilly by A.A. Milne

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,She wore her greenest gown;She turned to the south windAnd curtsied up and down.She turned to the sunlightAnd shook her yellow head,And whispered to her neighbour:'Winter is dead.'

Maths gamesHere are some games to help us learn about capacity

February

Science: ElectricityWe have been learning all about electricity. We drew pictures of all the things that use electricity.

Learn Together: Chinese New YearWe have been discussing the Chinese New Year.We made some red paper lanterns and some yellow fans to decorate our classroom.

Jolly phonics sound and word huntWe have been busy searching for words that contain the sounds we have been learning. All we need to do this activity are some books. We found all of these words and used the sounds we know to help us read them.All these words contain the sound 'ee': tree, knees, feel, feet, sweet, feeling, sheep, trees, sheep, seen, screech, sweets, see, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, deep, green and meet.All these words contain the sound 'ng': sailing, eating, painting, sing, sting, sings, jumping, hoping, walking, clapping, living, long and things.We also went in search of the tricky words we know and we found these words: the, to, my, here, I, me, do and one.

ArtWe used chalks to create these lovely pictures. We were experimenting by mixing colours.

Old MacDonald had a farm

Aistear

GaeilgeClár teilifíseDéan ÉTá muid ag foghlaim conas damhsa.We have been learning how to dance while learning Irish.Follow this link to TG4 and Cúla4

Here we are learning the dances by following the instructions given in Irish.

ScienceWe have been learning about materials and their properties. This activity allows us to experiment with different materials to check if they are waterproof and transparent. We can also check if they are strong and flexible.

We went on a material hunt in the classroom and sorted objects into groups or wooden objects, plastic objects, paper objects and metal objects. The windows were too awkward to move so we left them where they were.

An teilifís

Martin Luther King Day is on the 19th of January this year.We have been talking about him in class and discussing equality.

The story of Rosa Parks and the bus boycott.

Basketball with Gillian from Hoop Skool

MathsWe went on a 3D shape hunt and sort. Look at all the cylinders, cubes and cuboids we found in the class. We did not find any spheres or pyramids yet but we will keep looking.

How many are under the bowl? We worked in pairs to help each other learn how to subtract.

Cartún GaeilgeWe have been learning about the television and different types of programmes. We have been watching an episode of Peg and her Cat. The following link is to the TG4 player for children which contains many Irish language programmes for children.

LanguagesWe have been discussing how people speak lots of different languages and listening to rhymes in other languages. Some children asked for this to be put on the page so that they could learn Mary had a little lamb in German.

MathsNumber operationsIn Junior Infants we work on adding and subtracting amounts within 5. You can choose an amount for us to work with in this game.

Blues MusicWe have been learning what instruments are used to create blues music.This game involves us listening to and identifying the instrument being played.

Chuck Brown & The ChuckleberriesThe time-out blues

Story﻿The Magic Porridge Pot

Our poem for January﻿Michael FinneganThere was an old man named Michael Finnegan He had whiskers on his chinnegan The wind came along and blew them in again Poor old Michael Finnegan There was an old man named Michael Finnegan He went fishing with a pin again Caught a fish but it flopped back in again Poor old Michael Finnegan There was an old man named Michael Finnegan He ran a race and tried to win again He fell down and bumped his shin again Poor old Michael Finnegan

Maths gamesLadybird spotsYou can choose a counting, a matching or an ordering number game to practice what we have been doing in school.

Balloon PopPop the balloon with the least or the most.

Our Poem for DecemberChubby SnowmanThere was a chubby snowman Who had a carrot nose Along came a bunny And what do you suppose The hungry little bunny Was looking for his lunch He grabbed that snowman's carrot nose NIBBLE! NIBBLE! CRUNCH!!

﻿November﻿

Pattern BlocksWe use pattern blocks in class to work on patterns, shape and space and number work. You can see us using pattern blocks in some of the photos below. The following link is to a site where you can make repeating patterns or use the pattern blocks to create a picture.

Repeating PatternsLook how good we are at designing and building our own repeating patterns

Social, personal and health educationWe have been looking at dangers in the classroom and at home. Follow the link to the sensory house and identify the dangers in the kitchen.

StoryWe are working on the story of the Little Red Hen for the month of November. We will be re-enacting and sequencing the story as well as discussing it. We will also be looking at the characters, the setting and the main parts of the story.

Five SensesIn science we have been learning about the five senses. We have discussed what we love hearing, seeing, tasting, touching and smelling.

Our poem for November

There Once Was a Manby Charles CausleyThere once was a manCalled Knocketty NedWho wore his catOn top of his head.Upstairs, downstairs,The whole world knewWherever he wentThe cat went too.

HandwritingHere is a clip to help your child learn how to grip a pencil properly

Maths gameThe complete the square activity helps us understand the properties of a square.Click the link to play

October

Self-expression dress up day

AistearHere are some photos from Aistear in October

Jolly Phonics blendingWe have started blending sounds to read. The following clip is of a demonstration on how Jolly Phonics blending works.

Dogs Trust VisitWe had a visit from Fiona and Jake from Dogs Trust today. We learned all about what is needed to care for a dog. It sounded like way too much trouble for us so we have decided we are not going to ask our parents for a dog as a present.

Maths fun for maths week! Here are some links to maths games that can support our learning in school